El Centro Field Office supports maintenance projects at Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

BLM California’s El Centro Field Office supported Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks with maintenance and improvement projects for the second summer in a row. Winter snow and spring floods caused significant damage to roads and facilities as well as limited visitor access to the parks.

The El Centro Field Office sent six staff members including BLM Park Rangers, Equipment Operators, Maintenance Workers as well as heavy equipment to assist with the massive repairs. “This BLM-NPS partnership is a win-win-win situation since the park is getting help to provide visitor access, the BLM career seasonal staff are getting new job experiences, and the BLM home office is saving funds near the end of the fiscal year,” said El Centro Assistant Field Manager Neil Hamada.

The crew removed over 100 fallen trees from drainages and flushed 45 culverts, reestablishing 22 miles of roadway systems. They placed 1.8 miles of wood chips along steep burn scars for erosion control and safely directed traffic for over 9,000 cars. All work was accomplished between 7,000 to 8,000 feet of elevation.

Great job to all!